[ HOMELESS COALITION OF POLK COUNTY ]

Welcome to the Jungle: Group Ventures Out to Gauge Size of Homeless Population

BERNIE, A HOMELESS MAN, holding one of his dogs at his campsite in Lakeland, and Blue, below, preparing some coffee over a campfire at her Lakeland campsite, are among the city's transient population that the Homeless Coalition is attempting to count.

Published: Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 11:57 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 11:57 p.m.

LAKELAND | Take a walk across the tracks. Carve your way through the scrubland. Listen for barking of dogs and announce yourself as you approach.

Welcome to The Jungle, a wooded area in Lakeland and one of Polk County's more heavily populated homeless campsites, which more than 20 people call home.

It's no secret that Polk County has a large transient population, and this week, the Homeless Coalition of Polk County is hitting the shelters, sidewalks, convenience stores and campsites like The Jungle to try to gauge just how large the population has become.

Bernie, a 62-year-old who did three tours of Vietnam with the U.S. Marine Corps in the late 1960s, has lived in The Jungle for about two years, sharing a campsite with two friends and 22 dogs.

While collecting firewood for the cold night ahead, Bernie, who says he is "working on a ZZ Top beard," talked about his situation. Bernie, like others who call The Jungle home, asked for his last name to be kept out of the paper.

"I lost my job three years ago, and when the unemployment ran out, I had nowhere else to go," he said. "Now I'm 62 years old, dude, I'm just waiting for my Social Security so I can get my butt out of here."

Tony Whippleleatherwood, who is heading up this year's homeless count, said the Homeless Coalition surveyed about 800 homeless people last year, a drop from 1,200 the year before.

He said the drop, in part, was because of new ordinances passed in Lakeland and Winter Haven, and law enforcement toughening up on transient campsites.

"We're expecting to count at least 1,800 members of the homeless community this year," he said. "There will be a lot more families. People are losing their jobs, their homes."

According to the Lakeland ordinance, camping is defined as "the assumption of a bodily position or positions of repose or sleep, out-of-doors, for an extended period of time" and extended is said to be "a minimum of 30 consecutive minutes."

The penalty for violating the ordinance, is "a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment in the county jail or other county detention facility for a term not exceeding 60 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment."

According to the same section, someone who violates the code for more than one day will be charged with a separate offense for each day.

"They practically made it illegal to be homeless in Lakeland last year, which drove a lot of them to other locations or into hiding," Whippleleatherwood said. "We had some interest from law enforcement, and they told us they wouldn't mess with them, but this year we decided not to get them involved."

"It's not our mission to find out what they are hiding from — we just know they are homeless and want to help."

Laws in unincorporated Polk are not as strict, and Polk County sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Eleazer said the Sheriff's Office does everything it can to treat the homeless population with respect.

"They are citizens and it's a free country," Eleazer said. "They are free to work and play wherever they like as long as they aren't breaking the law."

Mike, 60, another Jungle resident, lives at a campsite near Bernie's, and was roasting wild boar as he talked about the challenges he and his friends face.

"I came out here when I lost my job about two years ago, Mike said. "That's why most people are out here. This is the last refuge for us when the work runs out."

"Every day, we take a chance coming in and out of here. Technically speaking, yeah, we're trespassing, but where else can we go?"

Butch Brett, 56, who volunteers with the Homeless Coalition, helped pass out blankets and jackets. Brett currently lives at the Wilson House, an in-house recovery center in Lakeland, and says he can relate to the local transient population.

"I spent a year at another camp here in Lakeland and lived on the streets for five or six," Brett said. "I'm from it. I know where they're at. I know how they feel. A lot of people out here are not getting the help they need."

Blue, a 49-year-old woman who has lived in The Jungle for two years, is among those in need. She lost her job in Daytona three years ago and came to Lakeland for work, but the work dried up. Then she found out she was HIV positive.

"I'm fighting for my disability but it's hard when I'm worried about having food to eat and clean clothes," Blue said, as her guard dogs roamed the area. "I just got a $65 ticket for flying a sign to get some money to do my laundry. How can I pay that?"

Still, Blue said, she would rather live at her campsite than in a local shelter.

"I actually like it out here; there's too much drama in the shelters," she said. "We all get along with each other here, we help each other out."

Whippleleatherwood said he will continue to journey into places like The Jungle, year in and year out, doing everything he can to lend a helping hand.

"If you ignore the problem, it's not going to go away ... It's going to get worse."

[ Clifford Parody can be reached at clifford.parody@theledger.com or 863-802-7516. ]

<p>LAKELAND | Take a walk across the tracks. Carve your way through the scrubland. Listen for barking of dogs and announce yourself as you approach.</p><p>Welcome to The Jungle, a wooded area in Lakeland and one of Polk County's more heavily populated homeless campsites, which more than 20 people call home.</p><p>It's no secret that Polk County has a large transient population, and this week, the Homeless Coalition of Polk County is hitting the shelters, sidewalks, convenience stores and campsites like The Jungle to try to gauge just how large the population has become.</p><p>Bernie, a 62-year-old who did three tours of Vietnam with the U.S. Marine Corps in the late 1960s, has lived in The Jungle for about two years, sharing a campsite with two friends and 22 dogs.</p><p>While collecting firewood for the cold night ahead, Bernie, who says he is "working on a ZZ Top beard," talked about his situation. Bernie, like others who call The Jungle home, asked for his last name to be kept out of the paper.</p><p>"I lost my job three years ago, and when the unemployment ran out, I had nowhere else to go," he said. "Now I'm 62 years old, dude, I'm just waiting for my Social Security so I can get my butt out of here."</p><p>Tony Whippleleatherwood, who is heading up this year's homeless count, said the Homeless Coalition surveyed about 800 homeless people last year, a drop from 1,200 the year before.</p><p>He said the drop, in part, was because of new ordinances passed in Lakeland and Winter Haven, and law enforcement toughening up on transient campsites.</p><p>"We're expecting to count at least 1,800 members of the homeless community this year," he said. "There will be a lot more families. People are losing their jobs, their homes."</p><p>According to the Lakeland ordinance, camping is defined as "the assumption of a bodily position or positions of repose or sleep, out-of-doors, for an extended period of time" and extended is said to be "a minimum of 30 consecutive minutes."</p><p>The penalty for violating the ordinance, is "a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment in the county jail or other county detention facility for a term not exceeding 60 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment."</p><p>According to the same section, someone who violates the code for more than one day will be charged with a separate offense for each day.</p><p>"They practically made it illegal to be homeless in Lakeland last year, which drove a lot of them to other locations or into hiding," Whippleleatherwood said. "We had some interest from law enforcement, and they told us they wouldn't mess with them, but this year we decided not to get them involved."</p><p>"It's not our mission to find out what they are hiding from — we just know they are homeless and want to help."</p><p>Laws in unincorporated Polk are not as strict, and Polk County sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Eleazer said the Sheriff's Office does everything it can to treat the homeless population with respect.</p><p>"They are citizens and it's a free country," Eleazer said. "They are free to work and play wherever they like as long as they aren't breaking the law."</p><p>Mike, 60, another Jungle resident, lives at a campsite near Bernie's, and was roasting wild boar as he talked about the challenges he and his friends face.</p><p>"I came out here when I lost my job about two years ago, Mike said. "That's why most people are out here. This is the last refuge for us when the work runs out."</p><p>"Every day, we take a chance coming in and out of here. Technically speaking, yeah, we're trespassing, but where else can we go?"</p><p>Butch Brett, 56, who volunteers with the Homeless Coalition, helped pass out blankets and jackets. Brett currently lives at the Wilson House, an in-house recovery center in Lakeland, and says he can relate to the local transient population.</p><p>"I spent a year at another camp here in Lakeland and lived on the streets for five or six," Brett said. "I'm from it. I know where they're at. I know how they feel. A lot of people out here are not getting the help they need."</p><p>Blue, a 49-year-old woman who has lived in The Jungle for two years, is among those in need. She lost her job in Daytona three years ago and came to Lakeland for work, but the work dried up. Then she found out she was HIV positive.</p><p>"I'm fighting for my disability but it's hard when I'm worried about having food to eat and clean clothes," Blue said, as her guard dogs roamed the area. "I just got a $65 ticket for flying a sign to get some money to do my laundry. How can I pay that?"</p><p>Still, Blue said, she would rather live at her campsite than in a local shelter.</p><p>"I actually like it out here; there's too much drama in the shelters," she said. "We all get along with each other here, we help each other out."</p><p>Whippleleatherwood said he will continue to journey into places like The Jungle, year in and year out, doing everything he can to lend a helping hand.</p><p>"If you ignore the problem, it's not going to go away ... It's going to get worse."</p><p> </p><p>[ Clifford Parody can be reached at clifford.parody@theledger.com or 863-802-7516. ]</p>